Gilroy Garlic Festival facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gilroy Garlic Festival
Status	Active
Genre	Fairs
Begins	Last Friday in July
Ends	Following Sunday
Frequency	Annually
Venue	Christmas Hill Park
Location(s)	Gilroy, California
Coordinates	36°59′52″N 121°35′7″W / 36.99778°N 121.58528°W / 36.99778; -121.58528
Country	United States
Years active	46

The Gilroy Garlic Festival is a super fun food festival held every year in Gilroy, California. It takes place on the last full weekend of July at Christmas Hill Park. Imagine a huge party celebrating all things garlic!

This three-day event is one of the most famous food festivals in the United States. People travel from all over the country to visit it. Gilroy is a city with about 60,000 people, located about 30 miles (48 km) southeast of San Jose. It's known for growing a lot of garlic! The festival is also Gilroy's biggest way to raise money for local groups. Volunteers work hard to help schools and other nonprofit organizations.

History of the Garlic Festival

The Gilroy Garlic Festival has been held every year since 1979. The only time it didn't happen was in 2020. This was because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused many events to be cancelled.

The idea for the festival came from Rudolph J. Malone. He was the President of Gavilan College in Gilroy at the time. Mr. Malone was inspired by a small town in France. This French town had its own yearly garlic festival. It even called itself the "Garlic Capital of the World." Malone thought Gilroy, a big garlic producer, should have one too! He started the festival, and now hundreds of thousands of people visit it each year.

What to See and Do

The Gilroy Garlic Festival is packed with exciting activities. You can try all sorts of foods made with garlic. There are cooking demonstrations where chefs show off their skills. You can also listen to live music and enjoy the lively atmosphere. It's a great place to learn about garlic and have a good time.

Gallery

See also

In Spanish: Gilroy Garlic Festival para niños